Hopeless Romantic
by simplystunningx22
Summary: Bella is slightly obsessed with romantic novels. She loves classics, such as Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. Is that what is holding her back from true love? Will she be able to fall in love, ever? Canon Parings. BxE AH AU. Slightly OOC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I do not own anything, it's the brilliant mind of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.

I'd never seen her like this. Alice was my best friend. I knew her inside and out, even though we had only been friends for a year. But once she had fallen in love, she changed, and acted differently. She started to clean, cook, and be on top of paying the bills more often. One time I caught her staring off into space, making pasta with a funny lopsided grin on her face.

"Earth to Alice? Alice?" I had said. "Snap out of it!"

She had quickly apologized, and concentrated on stirring instead. I knew Alice was completely and crazy in love, and I was happy for her. It was not a shock when Alice's boyfriend proposed to her. My other best friend Rosalie Hale was bitten by the love bug not to quickly after Alice. When they both moved out, I was overjoyed for them, although I was sad that I would not see them as much. A part of me wondered when I would meet someone who I would fall in love with.

"Alice? Alice?" There was no answer as I walked in the door to my apartment. Alice said she would drop off something earlier that morning, and I was wondering if she was still hanging around. "Alice Brandon Cullen? Rose?" I shrieked now. After a few seconds, it was obvious to me that the apartment was empty.

I sighed, kicking off my black pumps, grabbing my laptop, and diving knee first into the couch. I stretched my legs and pulled my hair down from its bun. My e-mail gave me another reason to sigh. Great. I worked at the Chicago Tribune, as a staff writer for the Metro section. (**A/N: I live near Chicago and I'm a writer for my high school newspaper. We call writers who do not hold and editorial position staff writers, and the Metro section is the name for the section where features and local events are talked about in the Tribune. Btw, the Tribune is a huge newspaper in Chicago, for those who are not familiar. But the paper's quality is just decreasing… I've heard they may go bankrupt. It just gets thinner and thinner every day and fills up with ads.) **A new message from my boss informed me that he was dumping another article on me for the month. I groaned, but I was slightly pleased. The more that I wrote, the better chance I had of being promoted to an editor by the end of the year. There were a couple of editors leaving, and hopefully one of those spots would become open to me. But what I really wanted was my own column. This was my dream job, to write with a column in the paper. I looked at the due date; this wasn't due until the end of May. It was a small article on a local community college study, it seemed dull.

I logged off, checking my personal email. Nothing new. I pushed away my computer, and rolled onto my back. I had a lot to get done this week.

I closed my eyes, letting sweet sleep take over me. An hour later, the shrill ringing of the phone interrupted my dreams.

"Hello?"

"Bella? It's Emmett. Listen, is Rose there? She was supposed to call me about an hour ago but I think her phone died…" Emmett Cullen was Alice's brother. He was tall and muscular. Rosalie was in a relationship with him, and they had been together for a while. It wasn't a surprise to me that they were also in love. I could tell, just as I had seen with Alice and her fiancée, Jasper Hale, who happened to be Rosalie's brother. Alice had another brother Edward, but I had never met him.

Rosalie Hale walked in the door that very second. She looked beautiful, as always. Her blond hair flowed around her shoulders, and she walked as if there was an aura of beauty circling her. Rosalie had gorgeous clear skin, and sweet blue eyes. She was tall, and filled out in all the right places. She could be a model if she wanted to.

"Hi Bella, that's Emmet I know. Can I have the phone?" I handed her the phone, and went back to minding my own business. "Thanks Bella, I really appreciate it. I was just dropping of your skirt from the other night. But my phone died… and I needed to really talk to Emmett…"

"Sure Rose, no problem."

"Thanks Bella. I'll talk to you later. I'm going home." Rosalie strutted out the door.

I was tired, and crawled right into bed. It had been a long night.

The next day was Saturday, and I spent my time hanging out with Alice and Rosalie. We discussed wedding plans, and went to look at possible invitations. It was hard to get Alice to make some choices, especially because Jasper was not with us.

"C'mon Alice, you have to start thinking about possibilities. Why don't you just write down some ideas?" Rosalie was dying to get out of the stuffy paper store.

Alice glared back at Rose. Her short black hair was chopped into different layers and pointed in all directions. She always looked like a little pixie, but she was beautiful. "Rose, don't you know that this is going to be one of the biggest events of my life? I'm getting married! I'm sorry you guys don't understand, but this is really important. Everything has to be perfect!"

"But Ali you just have to pick one or two things you like. It's all going to be lovely, whatever you decide. Nothing is ever perfect. What colors are you favorites?" This was from me.

"I do like this sea-green, but I'm not sure. If I commit to one, I miss out on all the others!"

"You committed to Jasper. Are you missing out on all the other men?" I had to giggle at Rosalie's remark.

Alice glared. "Rose, how could you say such a thing? Why would you even think that?"

"I'm just trying to make a point." We all broke out into giggles after that. Alice chose her green invitations, and we went our separate ways.

I ended up going grocery shopping that afternoon, and by the time I got in my apartment it was late. I poured myself a glass of water, and planned on spending the night cleaning. It was one of the things I hadn't gotten around to lately. I was wearing a flowing black skirt, and a frilly cream colored blouse. Pulling my hair down from my head, I turned on my iPod, and started to dance to Wilco. "I need a camera, to my eyeee," I was starting to sing and dance with my vacuum. "To my eyeee, reminding, which lies that I've, been hiding, which echoes belong, AHHH!"

It was the spilled water glass. I slipped, and fell down hard on my ankle. I must have slid across the wooden floor before crashing it into the refrigerator. Oh. That hurt. Where was the phone? I couldn't pull myself up. How was I ever going to get myself to the emergency room?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- Nothing, Nothing, Nothing. I don't even own Edward Cullen.

It was my copy of _Emma_ that saved me. It was sitting underneath my phone, and I was able to tug on the book cover and drag my cell to me. "C'mon, c'mon…" I urged the phone to come. I was silently sobbing; there was so much pain in my crushed ankle. I couldn't scream, the last thing I wanted was one of my neighbors to come to my aid. They were all sleeping anyway, I couldn't wake them. I dialed Rosalie, knowing she would be over in a heartbeat. She only lived a few minutes away.

"Rose?"

"Bella? Hey, what's up?" Rosalie answered the phone in a flash. "I'm so glad you called. I was in the middle of doing a few things for Alice with Emmett, we went to start looking at this photographer who could take pictures of the wedding, but he never showed up…" she trailed off into a meaningless story.

"Rose," I interrupted her, "I need you to come pick me up from my house and drive me to the ER. I think I shattered my right ankle."

"WHAT? HOW?" I could hear the car swerve. "Bella, I'm like five minutes away. Don't black out or anything. Can you hold on?"

I tried to hold back my tears. "Yeah, I can. See you Rose. Bye, please come as soon as possible." I hung up, and started to cry. I cradled a pillow to my chest and sunk my face down into it. There was no way I was going to scream and cry like a child. As much as I wanted to, I had to remain composed and calm. Thankfully no one had heard my yelp as I had slipped earlier. I closed my eyes, and counted back from 300. _300_, _299_…

_32_, _31_, _30… _Rosalie and Emmett ran in. "BELLA! BELLA!"

"Over here," I whispered. Emmett and Rosalie carefully hoisted me up right. Emmett scooped me up into his arms. They drove me to the hospital, which was a little busy. I waited with them for about twenty minutes. Of course, I had to explain the entire story to them, about three times, before they were done asking questions about how I hurt myself. Then they started asking me, "Are you okay? Are you okay?" It was too much. We were called before this old lady who seemed to be in bright spirits, but had a huge gash on her forehead. I felt awful for her.

I went straight to take x-rays. It was after lying down for, oh, I don't even remember how long, that I heard the technicians whispering within themselves. I knew my ankle was broken, but I couldn't stay in this room any longer. I was wheeled out into another room, where a doctor would come and tell me the news. Rose waited with me, Emmett had already gone home. She had fallen asleep. I sat on the bed, waiting the rotten news. About half an hour later, I grumbled. The ER was always making people wait. Where was this doctor? I must have dozed off, because a little while later I heard a knock on the door. "May I come in?"

My eyes fluttered awake. "O-of course!"

In walked in the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. He…was…stunning. I couldn't help but stare. He must have been twenty-something, and looked like a god. His bronze colored hair was messy, and adorable. I couldn't stop looking at his eyes; they were a dazzling shade of emerald. And oh boy, did Apollo ever look this good in a doctor's coat? I didn't think so. I looked down at myself. I hoped that I appeared to look some-what attractive. My blouse did look good with that skirt. However, it could not compare to this man standing in front of me.

"Bella Swan?" His voice was oh-so-sexy. He looked at me, and smiled.

"Oh that's me," I croaked. Gosh, why did I have to sound as if I was dead? "Yea, that's me." Didn't I realize how lame that sounded?

"Hi, I'm Dr. Cullen." Cullen… That was Alice's brother! "I'm here to tell you some bad news."

"I think I already know," I said. Why did he have to sound so attractive?

"Yes, it's quite obvious your ankle is broken." He smiled at me again. "It is really getting really late, and we still need to put you in a cast. Does your friend," he gestured towards Rosalie, "have a ride home? If she wants to, she can come back later and get you, or you can spend the night here, but I'm not sure you would enjoy spending your time in a quiet hospital."

"Oh, um, sure. Rose? Rose?" She awoke. "Hey, what do you want to do about this? I need to put a cast on my ankle…"

"Hi Edward! How are you?" Her answer surprised me.

He laughed. "Just fine thank you. Bella here seems to have smashed her ankle."

Rosalie jumped out of her chair. "Bella! Are you all right? Does it hurt? Will they put you in a cast?"

Edward Cullen smiled. "She's going to be fine."

"Rosalie, relax. I'm okay." Actually, I really wasn't. My ankle was hurting so much. But I didn't want to look like a wimp in front of Alice's brother.

"Bella, are you ready to get your cast on?" Edward looked at the time. "I'm sorry Rose, but Bella's ankle can only get worse. Are you coming?"

"Please Rose, come?" I managed a weak smile. Rosalie nodded. It took all of my control to not start crying.

"Shall we?" Edward's voice softly intervened.

The three of us walked down to another room. I was disappointed when Edward said he needed to leave. Rosalie and I talked about my ankle. After I had told her what had happened, she took the discussion into a different direction. "You know, if you weren't alone and found yourself a boyfriend you wouldn't have needed me to drive you to the ER…"

"Are you kidding me? We've been through this before. I don't have time to look for a boyfriend. I really need this promotion. I love my life the way it is. I'm young. I need to get settled in my adult life before I start looking for love."

Rosalie smiled. "Okay. But you know, it wouldn't hurt to have some fun once in your life. Okay?"

Thankfully, the technician walked into the room at that moment. I gave Rosalie a look, and turned my attention elsewhere. Before I knew it, my ankle was secure and I was free to go home.

The next day I found myself in the apartment moping around. Of course I couldn't go into work, so I had to work on everything from my house. I was going to be in a cast for eight weeks. Alice and Rosalie did their best to hang out with me with every second they could, but they had their own lives. Alice's wedding was happening in a month, and I couldn't be more excited. She was too busy planning her wedding to bother with anything else, and now she had my problems dumped on her. It wasn't fair. This Friday I was invited to a dinner at Jasper's family's house. It was a small get-together, with family and friends. It couldn't be more horrible, now I had to have people looking and staring at me for a whole evening, as if I was on display at the zoo, because of my clumsiness.

**I'd love a review. Criticism only makes a person a better writer. Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer, for giving us wonderful characters, and letting our creative juices flow.

Alice and Rosalie waited on me hand and foot for the next couple days. "Bella! We can't leave you alone for twenty four hours without a trip to the emergency room!" Alice had practically thrown herself at me. "Do you need anything?" "What can I get you?" I rolled my eyes at their comments. Really, I just wanted to be left alone.

I planned to spend a lot of time reading. I loved to devour all kind of books, especially classics. I loved romance. My all time favorites were _Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Emma, _and _Pride and Prejudice. _I had picked up a copy of _Jane Eyre _at the age of twelve, and followed it with Jane Austen novels. Then, when I turned sixteen, I found a copy of _Wuthering Heights_, which happened to be written by Emily Bronte, Charlotte's sister. I had fallen in love with these men, over and over again. (**A/N- I'd love to create a fanfic based on the novel **_**Me and Mr. Darcy,**_** starring the twilight characters. For any avid fans of **_**Pride and Prejudice,**_** check it out **_**Me and Mr. Darcy,**_** please! It is really good.) **Alice and Rosalie said that I wasn't successful in love because I obsessed over fictional characters too much. "Fictional characters that lived over a century ago," said Alice. "When are you going to quit suffocating in all of these made up guys and look for some real ones?"

"You are crazy. I love to get lost in another world. Any girl who reads these masterpieces would immediately see everything these characters offer. There is so much romance and passion and love. Just because I don't have a boyfriend at the moment doesn't mean that I never will. Books let you experience so much! I love pretending I'm Jane Eyre. Mr. Rochester is one of the sexiest men I have ever dreamed of. He says things like, 'Oh Jane, my love, my life!' which frankly no guy has ever said to me and no guy ever will." I was cut off by Rosalie.

"Oh Bella, my love, my life!" She was down on one knee. "Your beauty blinds me, like the strongest rays of the hot sun. I couldn't dare to stay away from you any longer." She raised her hand to her forehead and pulled away. Alice started to giggle. "Not a tick-tocking minute goes by where I don't think of your supreme crystal blue eyes-" Alice broke out into howls.

"Her ey- eyes are sup- supreme? Rose, yu-your mon-monologue is s-so lame!" Alice choked out the words. Rosalie stood up from her act.

"The most you could do is appreciate my fine acting skills! Could you come up with anything better? I don't think so!" Rosalie was really mad. She looked so serious, until she broke out into a huge grin. Then Rosalie began to break out into howling laughter.

"Can't you guys contain yourselves? You should be ashamed of making fun of great literature!" That only made them laugh harder. I was furious by now. Well, I wasn't going to stick around listening to them laugh. I grabbed my crutches and tried to pull myself up. However, I lacked the arm strength to get around on these crutches. I wasn't athletic. I was slender, but soft somehow. My klutziness prevented me from any future in sports.

I was unsuccessful at picking myself up, and fell back on to the couch. Alice and Rosalie saw my struggle and their laughter ceased.

"Bella, be careful!" Alice wouldn't leave me alone. I rolled my eyes once more.

"I'm fine," I grumbled. We ended up watching a few movies together after that. It was fun, just us girls hanging out, like in college. I was lucky to get a scholarship at the University of Chicago, in Illinois. Rosalie and Alice went to schools around the area, and lived around there, while I had come all the way from Forks. They helped me out through college, and I gained two of the best friends ever. Rosalie and Alice both studied at Columbia College, Alice studying fashion design (she was an assistant for a fashion magazine now) and Rosalie studying photography. They were both quite serious in their work, although I thought of myself to be the most serious out of the three of us. I had taken on a double major of Journalism and English Literature. I met Alice and Rosalie when they advertised their apartment looking for a roommate, and I couldn't have been luckier.

I did my best getting into my outfit for the dinner at Jasper's parents' house. I was wearing a gray wool turtleneck long-sleeved dress. Alice said it flattered my body, but I was too tired to even look at myself in the mirror. I only saw myself leaning on my crutches. There was no way I was going to wear heels, I was decked out in black converse instead. I let my hair fall down around me. I put on a little makeup, trying to bring out my eyes and lips. I doubt I succeeded.

Rosalie and Emmett drove me to the dinner. I didn't have my own car; it was too expensive. When I was younger I had my own truck, but I sold it because I didn't really need to go places. My friends lived near me, and work was a bus ride away.

Jasper's parents lived in a very old house, which was quite large. I had never been there before. Many guest circulated the house, carrying drinks and plates of food. I tried to avoid looking at all of the pairs of wandering eyes checking me out, and as I moved past many people, I heard whispers of adults commenting on my ankle. I felt my cheeks getting hot, from embarrassment. I found Alice, and made my way over to her.

"Bella! Hi!" Alice enveloped me in a hug, which was pretty awkward. She smiled. I was so happy for Alice, her wedding was going to be amazing. I knew that Rosalie and I were both going to be bridesmaids, but Alice hadn't told us who would be her maid of honor yet. She said that we would find out eventually soon. I turned my attention back to the party. I met Jasper's parents, they seemed like wonderful people.

"Dear, what happened to your foot?" Mrs. Whitlock, like everyone else I had talked to, had inquired about my accident.

"Oh, it happened due to my clumsiness. I slipped in my apartment and shattered my ankle." It was a story that I retold over and over again. Eventually, people stopped enquiring about my ankle.

I moved myself over to the buffet; I was starving. I fixed myself a plate of food, when I bumped the gentleman to the right of me. "Oh! I'm so sorry," I said.

"Bella?" I gasped at hearing the voice next to me. "Bella Swan?"

"Dr. Cullen! How are you?"

"Please, just call me Edward." Edward Cullen smiled at me. "I'm fine, how is your ankle? Making things difficult for you?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Very. Crutches are impossible to deal with. I don't have the arm strength to work with them."

Edward laughed. "It'll become easier, I promise."

I tried to balance my plate of food on my crutches. "Would you like to sit down?"

Edward grabbed my plate and his own. "I'd be delighted."

It was at that moment that Alice came up to us. "Hi guys! What do you think of the party?"

"I think it's going well," I said.

Alice frowned. "Some of Jasper's relatives are a little snobby, you know? But he and I are going to announce in a few minutes, I'm so excited! Gotta run!" She dashed off, looking for her fiancée.

"She seems so happy," Edward softly said.

"Yea," I said. "She does."

"So tell me about yourself," Edward said.

"Well, let's see. I'm twenty-six, and I write for the Chicago Tribune. Just local Metro articles, I assume you read it?"

"But of course."

I laughed. "Of course. I live around here, I love Chicago, but I was born out west. I lived in Phoenix with my mom for a while, then moved to Forks, Washington with my dad when I was in high school. It's complicated, she was getting married, and I didn't really want to be in the way."

"So you sacrificed your teenage years for her? That doesn't seem fair."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you, Edward? Life isn't fair. Look at my ankle. Do you think I'm glad that I have to walk around like this?" I smiled at him.

"No, I guess not. Go on."

I smirked. "Is my life really that fascinating?"

"I'm just waiting for the part where you tell me how you got to Chicago." His emerald eyes dazzled me.

"Oh, haha. I got a scholarship to the University of Chicago. I was leaving my family behind, but I was so excited to go to the University. Who could turn down University of Chicago?"

Edward nodded in agreement.

"It was going to be such a good opportunity. I double-majored, in Journalism and English Literature. And I met Rosalie and Alice soon after. And… this is where I am now." My voice grew very soft. Alice called me modest. "There's not really anything interesting about me. Tell me about you."

"Well, I" Edward started to talk, but was interrupted by Alice.

"Everyone! Hi. We'd like to make an announcememt, so could I have everyone's attention?" Alice shouted out from the middle of the room.

"You're getting married!" An unrecognizable voice yelled out from the crowd. Everyone laughed.

Jasper broke in. "Yes, we are Uncle Frank, and I couldn't be happier." More laughter erupted from the crowd. "We are getting married, on June 14th!" Everyone clapped and cheered. "I like to announce my best man, Emmett Cullen." Everyone clapped. Emmett already knew that he was going to be the best man, it was obvious.

"Whoo!" Emmett was ecstatic. "All right, well, Jasper is the best dude ever, and I'm so glad he's marrying the lovely Alice, my baby sister. Man, if you do anything to break her heart, I will kill you." He looked serious. Alice looked as if she was in tears.

Alice controlled herself and started to talk. "Now, as for me, I know I'm having two bridesmaids. But as for my maid of honor… Well I just couldn't decide." Now I was really paying attention. I would love to be Alice's maid of honor. And I knew Rosalie felt the same way. I had really no idea what Alice was going to do. "I couldn't pick just one person, so I'm having two maids of honor!" Everyone cheered. "It's my wedding, and I can do whatever I want. Bella Swan and Rosalie Hale, come up here!" I was overjoyed. Alice and Rosalie really were the best friends ever.

**Review please! Tell me what you think. Thank you to puasluoma and twihard-fanpire. I really appreciate your criticism!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- Thank you Stephenie Meyer!

Rosalie grabbed the microphone. I just stood there awkwardly, leaning on my crutches.

"Bella and I are thrilled to talk in part of this wedding. We couldn't be happier." Rosalie thrust the microphone in front of my face.

"We couldn't be dealing with a kinder, crazier, better bride," I said.

"Thanks, you guys," Alice said. She hugged us both, and turned her attention to the crowd. "We want you all to have a good time tonight. There's plenty of food, beer, and booze. Have a good time!"

The crowd broke up again into selected groups. I made my way back to Edward. He stood there smiling at me. "Congrats," he said.

"Thanks." I smiled back. "So tell me about yourself," I said between bites.

"Well, I'm Alice's older brother. I'm twenty-eight, and I'm a doctor at the local hospital. I went to Dartmouth, and I'm currently working on my Ph.D."

"Impressive," I said.

He smiled. "Yea, I guess so. I'm going to take a trip after the wedding, to Africa. I'm working in a refugee camp with sick children and adults. They've contracted malaria."

"Wow… How did you ever get an offer like that?"

"It was someone I knew at Dartmouth. He was a former professor, and he tried to contact some former pre-med students who might be interested. I figure that I won't ever get another opportunity to do something like this. There's a lot of interesting science and math to learn, a lot of chemistry and biology." So Edward was a little nerdy. But he was sweet. "I get to help people. As cheesy and cliché as it sounds, it's true."

"I really admire that. It seems to me that you are going to have a great experience. Are there other local people going on this trip?"

Edward laughed. "What, are you trying to make a story out of this?"

"Maybe," I admitted.

"Yea, there are some other Chicagoans going with me. A bunch of doctors are going, maybe ten? You could talk to your editor about it."

We continued to continue to talk for a little while longer. Edward and I shared a love for music, and books. He was into a lot of non-fiction, but like me, knew the classics. I came close to admitting my secret affairs with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Rochester, but I decided that I would be getting a little too personal. Our musical tastes were similar; he was into rock, like me. We shared passions for some of the same bands, but there were some he was fond of that I had never heard of. He was completely obsessed with jazz music, something I knew I liked but never found the time to listen too. He was also into musicals, like me. Of course, I had plenty to share with him too. After an hour and a half had passed, Edward had to excuse himself to talk to his parents. I didn't realize how quickly time had flown by.

The next day I submitted the story idea to my editor. I needed to take one day to grab my stuff, and take it home. Before I left, I caught my editor and proposed the story.

"Swan, this sounds like a good idea. How did you think of it?"

I looked him over. Mike Newton was forty-something, slightly pot-bellied, and starting to have a thin hairline. He was strict, and good at his job. Most people were scared of him, but I knew that if I worked hard and listened to everything he told me to do I would eventually be promoted. **(A/N: I'm thinking Gus from **_**Never Been Kissed**_**. Who doesn't love that movie? I recently watched it. You gotta love the ending.) **"I met one of the doctors at a dinner party and he talked to me about it. I was thinking Keeler; wouldn't he do a good job with this article?"

"Yea, good thinking Swan," my editor said. "Keeler! Assignment!" I began to walk away. "Hey Swan!"

I turned back. "Yes?"

"You keep up this type of work, you're gonna be promoted soon. Ya hear?"

I nodded. "Yes." Turning on my cast, I slowly made my way back to my desk. I was getting better at moving around on crutches, even if my arms were hurting all the time. I gathered my stuff, and left in the elevator. I wasn't coming back to the paper for a couple of weeks.

The next few days were a blur. I spent my time with Alice and Rose, getting ready for the wedding. After all, it was going to be in two weeks! There was still a lot to be done. Alice was a major procrastinator.

"Bella," she said to me one day, "Do you think that I should seat my cousin Becca with my friend Jim? They're both single and I think they'd make a cute couple."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you always think about romance?"

She smiled at me. "Answer the question, please."

"What does Jasper think?"

"Oh, he could care less," she continued. "This stuff doesn't really matter to him."

"But it matters to you," I said. I rolled my eyes again.

"Yea, I'm great at playing matchmaker, don't you think? And I think that Becca," Alice wrote in "Becca" on a spot on the seating chart, "should sit next to Jim," she wrote in "Jim" next to "Becca," "and together they will have great chemisty!" She drew a heart around the two names. "There." Alice seemed satisfied with herself.

All of a sudden Rose came in. "Chinese!" Jasper and Emmett followed her, and to my surprise, Edward, all carrying large bags of food.

"Thanks guys!" Alice quickly gave Jasper a peck on the cheek. She handed a box to me with chopsticks. After food was handed out, Alice posted the large seating chart pinned on the wall. I hand to hand it to her, she worked well under pressure. "So we still have about 50 people to still seat. I just don't know where to put them!"

I wasn't really interested in what Alice had to say about her seating chart; it was Edward who interested me. I wanted to learn more about his journey to Africa. He was sitting next to me, so it was easy for us to have our own side conversation.

"So Edward, when are you going to Africa?"

"Oh, shortly after the wedding. I was asked to go earlier, but I couldn't miss my little sister's big day."

"Yea," I smiled. "I did talk to my editor, and we are doing a feature on it." My tone grew worried. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, not at all." I relaxed. "In fact," he continued, "I encourage it. We need more people to do this kind of stuff. More doctors who are in this position to help the world. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

I nodded.

"Wow, Eddie, that was deep." Emmett laughed.

"Don't call me Eddie," Edward warned.

"Aww, relax! It's only Bella. She's practically family!"

After this, all of the conversations ended and people left. Rosalie and Emmett were nice enough to drive me home. I was tired, I crawled right into bed. Alice was getting married really soon. I couldn't wait to get married. Hopefully my wedding would be something out of one of Jane Austen's novels.

**Review, please! Thanks to puasluoma, my only reviewer last time! Please review! Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

In the morning I awoke to the sound of thunder.

CRASHHHH!

I jumped out of bed and looked out of the window. It was pouring. I groaned. I was supposed to meet Alice because the caterers were coming to finalize payments today. "Such a beautiful morning," I said to myself. I groaned. I pulled myself up out of my covers and onto my crutches. My arms were so sore this morning. I cringed in pain as I started to move to the door. "Today's a good day to crawl back into bed," I said. As soon as I lay back down under the covers, the phone rang.

BRINGGGG! BRINGGGG!

I whimpered. "Not now!" I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Bella! Are you coming? I'm standing outside your door. We have to get going! Are you ready? Come on out," the shrill, recognizable voice said.

"Alice, I'm still in bed. Stop screaming!"

I heard the door slam. _This cannot be good_, I thought. The sound of heels pounded across my tile kitchen floor.

"I knew it was a good idea to get here an hour early," Alice called from the other room.

I rolled my eyes, still under the covers.

Alice marched in. "Bella, you are my best friend," she said sitting on my bed. "I need you to please come with me to these caterers. You know I want to have a second opinion about everything."

I continued to roll my eyes. Yeah, right. Alice was a master at making decisions. She could totally handle this on her own. Alice only wanted me to come because, well, she worried about me. But she never really realized I could take care of myself on my own.

"It's so gloomy," I said.

"Get up!" There was no use in arguing with Alice. As she started ransacking my closet, I reached for my black yoga pants. "NO!" Alice slapped my hands.

"What?" I said.

"No sweatpants. No, no, no! What have I taught you?"

"Come on Alice! They are the most comfortable things in the world. And they are yoga pants. NOT sweatpants."

"Anything that you can workout in Here wear these." She tossed a pair of deep blue jeans at me, along with a flowered halter top. "Here. Wear this," she said.

I changed quickly. "You look great," she added.

"Let's go," I said.

Alice led me out the door. Once we were in her car, she handed me a coffee. During the drive, Alice kept chatting about haggling the food prices, and the flaws in the cake design. I patiently listened, but my mind was thinking about other things.

"Alice, watch where you are driving! We almost hit that car!" A horn bleeped to the left of us.

"Oh it's fine, I've got more important things to think about!"

"Maybe if you didn't drive so fast we wouldn't have almost hit that guy!" I exclaimed.

Alice rolled her eyes at me. The next hour passed by in a blur. When we left the caterers, I was dead bored. And tired. I knew today was the right day to stay in bed.

"Now," Alice said as we were driving home, "we will go shopping, and then we're meeting Rosalie at one to go over the seating chart one more time," _I rolled my eyes at this one_, "and then I have to go home and meet with the band for one last time, and finally I have to choose which color napkins I want via telephone with the company because the manager is off in New York and I have to call at a six because that was the only time she was available." Alice took a deep breath. "Then we are-"

"ALICE!" I screamed. Thankfully we had stopped at a red light. "I really don't need you telling me what to do! I can't do all of this with you! I have to go see the doctor today. My appointment is at three and it's already one-thirty. I don't have time!"

Alice look surprised. After a few seconds she regained color in her face. "Bella of course you are allowed to do other things. I'm sorry," she said pulling up to my apartment building. "I didn't mean to make you feel as if you had to come with me to all of this. Can I make it up to you?"

I gave her a hug. "Well, you can drive me to see your brother. That would be great."

Alice lit up. "I'd love to! I need to talk to him anyway. See you in an hour!"

I waved goodbye as I maneuvered myself into my apartment. When I got inside, I checked my email and found a confusing message from my editor. It said, _Swan, call me when you get this. Newton._ I dialed his number only to find that he wanted me to take a photograph for the article about the medical trip to Africa.

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because nobody can figure out what would be a good shot for this photo, and I think you can do it. Besides, you must want some sort of work. C'mon, it'll be easy," Newton said.

At the doctor's office I was nervous seeing Dr. Cullen again. The way his green eyes had made me feel last time… well… I hadn't felt that attracted to a man in a long time. Not even with my last boyfriend Jacob. He was plenty nice, and I was going to almost marry him, but I wasn't in love with him. I craved romance. But the romance wasn't there with Jacob.

I met Dr. Cullen in the doctor's room. "Dr. Cullen," I said, reaching my hand out to shake his.

He met me with an open hand and a smile. "Please, call me Edward. If you are Alice's best friend and maid of honor, I'm sure we will be seeing more of each other."

"Okay, Edward." I smiled. "Nice to see you again."

"As you as well, Bella," he said. Edward opened my file. "How is your ankle?"

"Well," I said, "it's best when I'm taking Ibuprofen ™."

He laughed. "As expected," he said. "Let me see your cast. Have you been elevating it?"

"Yes," I said. "And resting it." I paused. "Are you a, bone doctor?"

"No, I actually want to become a neurosurgeon, but I currently have a job as the orthopedic surgeon here. That will take a lot more studying. When I go to Africa I will be helping people with treatments, but also helping everyone who has orthopedic injuries."

I nodded. "That's really great. It's great that you are someone who can sacrifice their time to do this. Actually, my editor wants to know if he could have some sort of photo for the article, although we're not sure yet what we want to do. We might do a picture of everybody from the hospitals around here going. That's not very interesting though."

"When you do know," Edward said, "contact me and I'll make sure that you have everything you need."

"Thanks," I said. I looked down at my knees. Why was I so nervous? My stomach felt all fluttery. I barely knew the man, after all! Why did he make me feel this way? _I am a strong, confident, self sufficient woman,_ I told myself. I took a deep breath.

Edward moved onto my ankle. "So, um, I think you are doing nicely on your ankle. Just keep resting it, alright? You don't have to come back for about six weeks when we take off the cast."

"Thanks so much," I said. I shook his hand once again. I felt a pass of electricity between our hands. Looking at Edward, I could tell he felt it too. He pulled his hand away quickly. I gasped. "B- be seeing you," I said quickly. I knocked over a huge stack of papers on his desk. My face turned bright red.

"Oh, shit!" I murmured. Edward looked at me quizzically. "Uh, I'll just pick these up." I made a pile of the mess I had created. _Nice going Swan, _I thought as I left the waiting room back to the parking lot where Rosalie was supposed to pick me up.


End file.
